Chapter Eleven

M alcolm wanted to kick himself. Had he actually just said that? Hell’s teeth, he was getting soft.

No matter how Rosalie looked at him, she had no effect on him. Truth be told, she looked like she could work in one of the local whorehouses. She probably did. He had no idea what she’d told Lizzie, but he was certain whatever it was, was a lie.

He was surprised the innkeeper allowed her to sully his patronage. It was a surefire way to ensure he would never return, especially with a reputable lass such as Lizzie.

Reputable? He almost laughed. She was a possible thief. That made her no more reputable than Rosalie.

Lizzie had a sour look on her face. “Is something amiss?”

“Nay. ’Tis naught. If ye’d like to sup with Rosalie, ye are welcome to. I am fine dining on my own.” Her voice was clipped as she spoke.

“I—” He snapped his mouth shut as he searched for the right words. But what was it that he wanted to say? “I dinna wish that. I am quite comfortable with my current company.”

Her cheeks flushed in the most adorable way, and once again, he had to remind himself that this wasn’t some courtship he was doing. It was a job.

It seemed to take forever for the food to be served. When it finally was, they ate in awkward silence, stealing glances.

He was too old for this shite. He wasn’t some schoolboy seeing his first pretty girl.

He was a grown man for Christ’s sake.

“I canna eat another bite,” Lizzie announced, dabbing at the corners of her mouth before setting her napkin on her plate.

Mary appeared out of nowhere. “Are ye ready to retire, miss?”

“Aye.” She stood and turned to him and dropped into a curtsy. “Thank ye for the company during dinner, my lord.”

He stood and nodded. “I will be up shortly.”

He watched her walk out of the room, his eyes never leaving her arse.

“Another whisky,” he called to the server as she passed, waving his glass.

She returned with a bottle and went to pour him a glass.

“Just leave the bottle. Ye can add it to my bill.”

As he drank, his eyes remained where Lizzie had disappeared. What the hell was he going to do for the night?

One room.

One damn room.

He sucked down two more glasses of whisky and pushed back from the table. He needed to make sure the women were safely in their room.

As he left the dining room, an arm snaked around his neck. A mouth close to his ear spoke seductively. “I didna think ye were e’er going to leave the room.”

He extricated himself from Rosalie and took a step back. “Sorry, I am no’ interested.”

She tugged at his lapels, trying to pull him closer, but his feet were planted.

“Come on, now. We can have a great time before ye return to your lady.”

“She’s no’ my lady.”

Rosalie smiled wide. “E’en better.”

“Nay.” He grasped her hands and pulled them off his jacket. “I said I wasna interested. Ye would do well to heed my words.” He pushed past her and took the stairs two at a time.

Fighting the urge to burst through the door, he paused, and took a deep breath before knocking sharply on the door. “’Tis I,” he called and waited for an invitation in.

He said it was only so that he could verify their safety. That’s what he kept telling himself. But he was also hoping for a glimpse of Lizzie in her nightclothes. He’d had a taste of it the night previously, but he longed for more.

Mary swung the door open and held it wide for him to walk through.

Lizzie was in her nightdress, covered with a robe cinched tight around her small waist.

He bit his lip. He wanted to reach out and tug on the bow and let it fall to the floor.

“I have been thinking and I dinna feel comfortable with ye sleeping on the floor of the hall. ’Tis no’ right. Ye are an earl. Ye should be sleeping in the verra best conditions.” She paused, smoothing her robe with the palms of her hands. “While I canna offer ye that, we do have only one bed after all. Ye should at least sleep in here.”

He closed his eyes. The thought of sleeping in the same room with Lizzie and not being able to touch her sounded like a torture he didn’t want to experience.

“’Tis verra kind of ye, Lass. But I dinna think that is wise.”

“Is it because ye would rather sleep in Rosalie’s bedroom?”

“Miss!” Mary scolded.

Lizzie tilted her chin up stubbornly. “Ye can go then. I am no’ holding ye here. Ye’ve no duty to me. I ken men have,” she paused, rolling her lips inward, “needs,” she finished quietly.

Mary gasped at her side.

“I will take my leave. No’ because of any preconceived needs ye think I may have. But because I respect ye and doona want to say anything uncouth in front of ye. I will be back in the morn to gather ye and continue our journey,” he snapped and left the room. It took all his might to not slam the door shut.

The last thing he saw was Lizzie standing with her mouth open in surprise. Good. The lass had gone too far insinuating what she had.

He paced the hall for a bit before going downstairs and procuring another whisky. Then he marched his arse back up the stairs and parked it on the floor in front of Lizzie’s door. Hopefully this night she would have a better night than the last and she wouldn’t feel the need to chase down a glass of warm milk.

Settling against the door, he let himself relax. He’d slept in much more uncomfortable positions in his lifetime. The night would pass slowly, but it would pass and they would be back on the road in the morn.

Malcolm jerked awake, a loud noise startling him, until he realized the time.

Jumping to his feet, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with the heels of his hands.

Rolling his head from side to side trying to get the kinks out, his back screamed from the movement. He very much looked forward to sleeping in a bed, though that wouldn’t happen until they reached Stonehaven.

Downstairs, the inn was coming to life. Maids were moving about and the kitchen staff were hard at work. The smell of fresh baking bread wafting up and infiltrating his senses. His stomach growled, but he ignored it.

They really needed to get on the road as soon as possible this morn. The events of the day before had put them behind schedule. He pushed off the door and went in search of the innkeeper. There would be no time to break their fast in the dining room today. Instead, he would pay the innkeeper to have his cook prepare them a basket to take on their way.

“Ah, good morn, my lord. I hope the room was to your satisfaction.”

“’Twas, thank ye. Could I trouble ye to prepare us a meal for the road? We must be getting on our way.”

“Och, so soon,” a voice drawled from behind him. “I was hoping we could get to ken each other better today.” Rosalie sidled over to him, and he stiffened.

“Ah, I see ye’ve met my daughter,” the innkeeper said, and Malcolm choked down a snarky reply.

Damn. That was unexpected.

“We met last eve, Papa.”

“Well, I hope ye werena any trouble. Run along and ask Cook to put something together so that the earl and his wards can break their fast as they travel.”

Irritation reddened her face, but she spun and left toward the kitchen. Malcolm had a feeling she didn’t like being ordered about. He also had the feeling her father had no idea his daughter was soliciting his guests.

Nodding his thanks, he went upstairs to gather the women. He had enough problems of his own without adding a lonely lass to the equation.

He rapped his knuckles on the door and waited.

Mary answered. “Good morn, my lord.”

“’Twill be once we are on the road,” he said gruffly.

*

“I fear the earl is upset with me, Mary. Rightly so, I suppose.”

Lizzie had hardly slept all night. She just tossed and turned, kicking herself for the things she had said to Malcolm. It wasn’t her place and she should have just kept her mouth shut.

Her mama had oft told her it would get her into trouble one day. It appeared the day had come.

“I am certain he is only grumpy due to having to sleep on the floor again,” Mary offered, trying to make her feel better.

It didn’t help. She would apologize to Malcolm when they were on the road. Which would be soon, since he was here to gather them up.

His brows were furrowed as he entered the room and gave her a curt nod. His appearance seemed to suck all of the air out of the room.

She and Mary had been up since before dawn. All the tossing and turning she’d done had kept Mary awake, which she felt very bad about. She’d apologized multiple times, but Mary just swept her hand in dismissal. Tired of waiting for sleep to come, she gave up the fight and they both got out of bed and started getting ready for the day.

Because of their delays yesterday, she had an inkling Malcolm would want to be on the road as early as possible this morn, and she wasn’t wrong.

He picked up their bags. “Are these all ye have?” he asked gruffly.

“Aye.”

Without another word, he walked stiffly out of the room, his mouth in a thin line. They had no choice but to hurry after him. Divine smells from the kitchen wafted through the halls, assaulting her senses and her stomach growled in response. If Malcolm heard, he paid no attention and walked out the door into the cool morning air.

John was waiting for them to exit, stepping forward to take the bags from Malcolm and securing them to the back of the carriage.

Mary followed her inside and they settled on the bench, waiting for Malcolm to join them.

He poked his head inside. “I need to settle up with the innkeeper. I will be back shortly.” He backed out, but then stuck his head inside once again. “Dinna go anywhere.”

She wasn’t sure where he thought they would go. But she nodded and watched him leave.

When he returned a few moments later, he held a cloth covered basket that he brought inside the carriage.

Lizzie kenned what it was immediately. The same smells from the kitchen now filled the interior and as the carriage rocked to a start, she couldn’t stop looking longingly at the basket.

Would it be rude to ask if they could break their fast? She worried her lip as she thought about it.

It would, she decided. But then she remembered she had a more pressing matter to attend first.

“My lord,” she called, drawing his eyes from the window to her.

He didn’t say anything, just raised a brow in question. His blue eyes questioning as he met her own eyes in response.

“I feel I owe ye an apology. Sometimes I speak without thinking, and I fear I did just that last night. I shouldna have said those things, and I apologize for doing so.”

The way he looked at her was disconcerting. Was he trying to ascertain if she spoke the truth? She did indeed. She felt awful about what she’d said. It was why she couldn’t sleep last night.

After a long silence, he nodded. “Apology accepted. Though I should do the same. I wasna acting gentlemanly in any way.”

Pressing her lips together, she hid her smile behind her hand.

“Well, with that out of the way, let us start the day on a new foot,” she offered.

“I believe ye are right, Miss. I had the innkeeper prepare a meal to break our fast on the road. Well, I asked him, and he tasked his daughter, Rosalie, to do it.”

Lizzie couldn’t stop the chuckle that burst from her lips. “She is the innkeeper’s daughter?” She asked with surprise. “I would ne’er have guessed that.”

“I, too, was quite surprised when I found out this morn.”

He smiled warmly and the gesture transformed his whole face. He was very handsome when he dropped the strict countenance he’d been holding.

“That’s also to say I havena checked the items in the basket, so we may either be pleasantly surprised or expectantly disappointed.”

“Either way, ’tis naught to do with ye. Ye canna control her actions.”

The scents filling the interior had her believing that they would enjoy whatever items were inside, but she supposed she there was always a possibility that she included something untoward.

They enjoyed a pleasant meal, which, surprisingly, only included edible items. Lizzie was delighted as she broke her fast on an array of scones, fruit tarts, and even a boiled egg as the carriage ambled along. Every once in a while, it would lurch them to the right or left and they were careful not to tip their plates.

There was no tea to be had, but Malcolm did offer her sips from his flagon, which was filled with wine. She imagined that wasn’t what it usually held so she appreciated the gesture, even if it was a wee bit early to be drinking wine.

Mary ate in silence beside them, her eyes focused on the trees beyond the window.

“My lord,” Lizzie called after swallowing a bite from a deliciously warm scone. “We have traveled all these miles together and yet I feel we ken verra little of each other. I think it a splendid idea to rectify that for the remainder of our journey.”

He cocked his head as if contemplating her suggestion, and after a sip of wine, nodded. “Where should we begin? What would ye like to ken?”

This was promising. She thought he might turn her down, but this was promising indeed.

“Ye previously said ye werena married. Multiple times,” she added. “Have ye e’er been?” She probably shouldn’t have started with such a personal question, but she was genuinely curious as to what made Malcolm Kennedy take such concerns. Aye, he had his temper side, but he’d also shown her he could be gentle and kind. She wanted to ken whom he learned that from.

“Nay. I have ne’er wed.”

As handsome as he was and an earl, she found that surprising.

“Have ye?”

She snorted. “Absolutely no’. I believe my parents would like to see me wed, but no one has met my papa’s expectations. They are exceedingly high.”

“Do ye want to marry?”

“Och, aye. When the time is right. And the right man comes along.” She ducked her head as she felt her skin flush. Her parents had always been accommodating when it came to marriage concerns. For that, she was extremely grateful.

“Ye are close with your parents? I’ve heard ye mention them a few times.”

She loved them dearly, though she didn’t look forward to her arrival home and them learning of her antics. They would be most unhappy.

“They have been verra kind. I can be trying at times,” she admitted.

Beside her, Mary chuckled, before squeezing her lips shut, trying not to outright laugh.

“Ye dinna say,” Malcolm said dryly. “I’d have ne’er guessed.”

She tilted her head to the side and shrugged her shoulders. “I do try.”

“But sometimes ’tis just hard?” The corners of his full mouth lifted.

“Ye are teasing me. I do my best, but ofttimes it gets me into trouble.”

“Such as attending a party to steal jewelry.”

Her eyes rounded. “I have already told ye that is no’ what I was doing. Which ye will soon find to be true.”

“Mmhhmm” he murmured.

“But aye, they were unaware that I was going to attend the party of Viscount and Viscountess Wilson. And they will be most unhappy about it when they find out,” she added, scrunching up her nose.

“How about siblings? Have ye any?”

Her heart sank at the thought of her brother. “I did, but he passed a few years ago.”

“I am verra sorry to hear that. Was he sick?”

She shook her head. “Nay. He fought in the war. He was lost just before it ended.”

His brows furrowed and he got a faraway look in his eyes. “War is never a winning affair. There are losers on both sides. The loss of life is the saddest outcome.”

She could only bob her head up and down. She missed her younger brother dearly. He was kind and loved his family above all else. When duty called, he jumped at the chance.

When she’d seen him off the day he left, she never imagined it would be the last time she would see him. Or hear his voice.

But she didn’t want to think about that. She didn’t want to be sad. She usually kept the memories of her brother locked away in the recesses of her mind. If she didn’t, she would be filled with sorrow all the time. She didn’t want to live her life that way. And neither would he.

“Do ye have any siblings?” She wanted the focus off her and her family. He would find out soon enough how much she and her parents loved each other. And the memories of her brother were all around the house.

“I dinna. My parents passed shortly after my mother gave birth to me.”

“I am so sorry.” Her heart broke at his loss.

“’Tis fine. I dinna remember them. My childhood was filled with nannies and tutors, preparing me for my position as earl.”

She thought of how sad of a life that must have been. She couldn’t imagine a childhood without her brother. Without her parents. It would have been lonely to say the least.

“That must have been hard on ye.”

He shook his head. “’Twasna really. I didna ken any better. And when it came time for me to leave for the war, I didna have to fash o’er a family I was leaving behind.”

That part was true.

“What did ye do in the war?”

Malcolm’s gaze moved to the window and his eyes darkened. His face suddenly looked somber as if the unpleasant memories were more than he wished to think about.

Suddenly, she felt bad for asking the question, though her intentions were purely innocent as she was only curious.

“Ye dinna have to answer that, my lord. I’m sure it must have been a trying time.”